Nancy may be good at solving mysteries, but she is even better at manipulating the good-hearted, frustrated, Ted. Together they follow the trail of clues, Ted always unwilling and always "duped" into assisting. Determined to find out what happened to the elderly woman, she enlists (or forces) the help of Ted Nickerson, next door neighbor. True to form, Nancy jumps into the mystery even when no one else believes that there is one. In this first of the series, Detective features a plucky Nancy Drew who goes on the man-hunt when a wealthy old dowager disappears after promising to donate a large amount of money to Nancy's private school. All were made in black and white with a run time of 60-68 minutes each. The films feature the same core cast, with 15-year-old Bonita Granville in the title role, Frankie Thomas as "Ted" Nickerson (he was "Ned" in the books), John Litel as Carson Drew, Frank Orth as Captain Tweedy, and Renie Riano as "Effie" the housekeeper (she was "Hannah" in the books). Without further ado, I give you the Nancy Drew series! Recent depictions (I'm talking about the 2007 Emma Roberts version) give us an unrecognizable Nancy, one with challenged social skills and brown hair.
Nancy then went untouched by the screen until the 70s, when she was reinvented for TV by Pamela Sue Martin.
More sequels were probably on the shelf in 1939, but Bonita Granville left Warner Brothers for MGM and further development of the series was precluded. Reporter, Trouble Shooter, and the Hidden Staircase all followed within a year. (Strange behavior in light of the novels' success and the hasty way in which they snatched up rights.) Nonetheless, Nancy Drew, Detective did surprisingly well at the box office and three more follow-up productions were put in the works. The studio assembled a cast, threw together a plot that was only lightly based on any of the Nancy Drew books, gave the production B level funding, and sent the product off to be second billing. In 1938, Warner Brothers liked nothing better than to have a slice of the Nancy Drew pie. Independent, smart, and courageous in word and picture alike, Nancy captured the heart of millions. Stylish and sophisticated, the original book covers and inside illustrations depicted a female heroine unlike any other at the time.
Tandy, the original illustrator, sealed the deal for Nancy's success. She has remained 18 years of age for the the past 75 or so years. Somewhere along the way, Nancy starting driving a maroon roadster, then ended up in a yellow one and aged to 18 years of age. She is regarded as being largely responsible for shaping Nancy's personality, demeanor, and spirit.īenson wrote Nancy at 16 years old and driving a blue roadster. Mildred Wirt Benson, still treasured among Nancy devotees as the most original and beloved of the "Carolyn Keenes" is said to have earned upwards of $500 for the last few books she contributed.
Initially, most ghostwriters were paid at a rough fee of $125 per novel written. Other authors include Walter Karig, George Waller Jr., Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Charles Strong, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, and Margaret Scherf. Possibly more than 13 salaried ghostwriters contributed to the original series through the Syndicate, which reserved the rights to both Nancy and the pseudonym Carolyn Keene.
Harriet was responsible for most of the work done between them, writing 24 of the novels herself, and dedicating more than 25 years to an extensive revision and update process on the original novels.
Upon Edward's death the Syndicate passed to his daughters, Edna and Harriet, who together continued to guide Nancy's development. Of course, the series was much more popular than anyone expected, though Stratemeyer didn't live to know it. Benson wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mystery novels under the Syndicate pen name, Carolyn Keene. After roughly outlining the character, Stratemeyer passed on his expectations for Nancy Drew to staff writer Mildred Wirt Benson, whose responsibility it was to flesh out the skeleton (pardon me) into successful novels.